2008 BMW M3 Convertible

So long, SMG. The M3 droptop will get BMW's long-rumored seven-speed double-clutch transmissionas will the M3 coupe and sedan.

Like any good discount shopper, we appreciate the value of a good two-for-one deal, and BMW just gave us a whopper of a blue-light special. Besides the skinny on the BMW M3 droptop, the Bavarians have graced us with a bevy of details on their new transmission, the long-rumored dual-clutch automated manual.

Double the Clutches, Half the Broken Vertebrae

Since the M3 convertible has been on our radar for some time, let's first dive into the transmission, which BMW calls the M Double-Clutch Transmission (M DCT). In addition to placing the fancy new box in the M3 convertible, BMW confirms it will simultaneously debut in the M3 coupe and sedan, too. Possessed of seven forward speeds—equal to the number found in the herky-jerky single-clutch SMG currently used throughout the M portfolio—the M DCT is similar to Volkswagen's DSG in that it operates with two clutches on separate output shafts to facilitate lightning-fast shifts with no interruption in power delivery. One clutch handles even gears; the other, odd.

The new transmission is engineered to handle up to 9000 rpm, so the M3 V-8's 8400-rpm limit won't present a problem. The driver can select from 11 shift programs—five for automatic mode and six for manual mode. When in automatic mode, the transmission acts like a conventional auto, shifting to the most appropriate gear for the situation. In manual mode, however, the box shifts sequentially, moving up and down through the gears in reaction to inputs from the gearshift or the steering-wheel-mounted paddles.

Manual mode also features a launch-control program that will allow the M3 coupe, sedan, and convertible to hit 62 mph from a stop in a claimed 4.6, 4.7, and 5.1 seconds, respectively, 0.2 second quicker in each case than their manual counterparts. But, given that a manual-transmission M3 coupe we tested hit 60 in 4.3 and that dual-clutch transmissions shift faster than conventional sticks, we're going to say those estimates will prove pessimistic.

BMW claims this new gearbox weighs about 45 more pounds than the manual but improves the M3's fuel economy by three to five percent in European tests.

This all sounds great, but the thing we're most looking forward to is being able to drive an M car without wearing a HANS device. The old SMG—still found in the M5 and M6, although we expect the M DCT to supplant the SMG in those cars soon enough—features notoriously rough shifts, snapping necks even when placed in its least-aggressive setting.

M3 Loses Its Roof, Breaks the Scales

The third body style of the latest M3, the convertible, completes the lineup, unless BMW sees fit to offer an M3 wagon—a variant it has never done but one we probably wouldn't get stateside, anyway. The recipe is mostly the same: a high-revving, tech-heavy 414-hp, 4.0-liter V-8; a whole mess of aggressive aero bits tacked onto the body; and a standard six-speed manual transmission.

The new M DCT, of course, will be optional, and the requisite brake upgrades and optional adjustable shocks are there, too. MDrive—the method by which an M3 owner selects his or her favorite transmission, steering, engine map, stability control, and suspension settings—is available at an additional cost.

As mentioned, BMW predicts 0-to-62-mph runs of 5.1 seconds with the M DCT, and it claims cars with standard manuals should perform the task in 5.3. We've weighed an M3 coupe at 3571 pounds, which is heavy enough, but the droptop will pack on an additional 400 or so pounds, likely topping 4000 pounds when equipped with the M DCT.

Accounting for most of the extra weight is the three-piece retractable steel hardtop and its attendant mechanism. It opens and closes in 22 seconds and can be actuated via the car's remote. Like the regular 3-series convertible on which the M3 ragtop is based, the automatic A/C system features a top-down mode that sets itself according to some sort of wizard hoodoo involving the outside temperature and the amount of sunshine.

We love top-down driving, but the M3 convertible has always been somewhat of a poseur-mobile. It's traditionally been way heavier, way flexier, way slower, and way more expensive. We don't expect the latest iteration to drastically improve on any of those fronts when it arrives in the U.S. this May. Oh, well. At least that sweet V-8's bellow will come through loud and clear with the top dropped.

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